The Chessman

Kasparov, author of How Life Imitates Chess, was the world?s top-ranked player from 1985 until he retired from the game in 2005.

“It is hard to say exactly when I first heard the name Bobby Fischer, but it was quite early in my life. When he was battling Boris Spassky for the world title in 1972, I was a 9-year-old club player in my native Baku in the Soviet Union. I followed the games avidly. The newspapers had extensive daily coverage of the match, although that waned as it became clear the Soviet champion was headed for defeat. Fischer’s My 60 Memorable Games was one of my first chess books. (It had been translated into Russian and sold in the U.S.S.R. with no respect for copyright or royalties, infuriating its author.)

As I improved during the 1970s, my coach, Alexander Nikitin, made charts to track my progress and to set goals for me. A rating above 2500 was grand master; 2600 meant membership in the Top 10; 2700 was world-champion territory. And even above that was Bobby Fischer, at the very top with 2785. I became world champion in 1985, but true to Nikitin’s vision, I had an even loftier goal; it took me four full years to surpass Fischer’s rating record.

It was Fischer’s attitude on and off the board that infused his play with unrivaled power. Before Fischer, no one was ready to fight to the death in every game. No one was willing to work around the clock to push chess to a new level. But Fischer was, and he became the detonator of an avalanche of new chess ideas, a revolutionary whose revolution is still in progress.

At Fischer’s peak, even his adversaries had to admire his game. At the hallowed Moscow Central Chess Club, top Soviet players gathered to analyze Fischer’s crushing 1971 match defeat of one of their colleagues, Mark Taimanov. Someone suggested that Taimanov could have gained the upper hand with a queen move, to which David Bronstein, a world-championship challenger in 1951, replied, ‘Ah, but we don’t know what Fischer would have done.’

Not long afterward, the grim Soviet sports authorities dragged in Taimanov and his peers to discuss Taimanov’s inability to defeat the American. How had he failed? Was he not a worthy representative of the state? Spassky finally spoke up: ‘When we all lose to Fischer, will we be interrogated here as well?’

By World War II, the once strong U.S. chess tradition had largely faded. There was little chess culture, few schools to nurture and train young talent. So for an American player to reach world-championship level in the 1950s required an obsessive degree of personal dedication. Fischer’s triumph over the Soviet chess machine, culminating in his 1972 victory over Spassky in Reykjavík, Iceland, demanded even more.

Fischer declined to defend his title in 1975, and by forfeit, it passed back into the embrace of the Soviets, in the person of Anatoly Karpov. According to all accounts, Fischer had descended into isolation and anger after winning that final match game against Spassky. Fischer didn’t play again until a brief and disturbing reappearance in 1992, after which his genius never again touched a piece in public. Having conquered the chess Olympus, he was unable to find a new target for his power and passion.

I am often asked if I ever met or played Bobby Fischer. The answer is no, I never had that opportunity. But even though he saw me as a member of the evil chess establishment that he felt had robbed and cheated him, I am sorry I never had a chance to thank him personally for what he did for our sport.

Much has already been written about Fischer’s disappearance and apparent mental instability. Some are quick to place the blame on chess itself for his decline, which would be a foolish blunder. Pushing too hard in any endeavor brings great risk. I prefer to remember his global achievements instead of his inner tragedies. It is with justice that Fischer spent his final days in Iceland, the place of his greatest triumph. There he was always loved and seen in the best possible way: as a chess player.”

Morelia Round three GM analysis 19.02.2008– Topalov and Anand are marching through in Morelia. The Bulgarian is leading with 2.5 points out of three (3000+ Elo performance!), the world champion has half a point less. Together they scored four wins so far. No one else has a plus score after the first three rounds. GM Dorian Rogozenko analyses all four games from this exciting round. Learn and enjoy.

Morelia-Linares 2008

The following express commentary was provided by Grandmaster Dorian Rogozenko, who is the author of a number of very popular ChessBase training CDs and articles for ChessBase Magazine.

Topalov and Anand are marching through in Morelia. The Bulgarian is leading with 2.5 points out of three (3000+ Elo performance!), the world champion has half a point less. Together they scored four wins so far. No one else has a plus score after the first three rounds.

Another impressive victory for the ex-world champion. Just like in the first round win against Aronian, Topalov used opponent’s few inaccuracies in the opening to take over the initiative, after which at no point of the game there were any doubts left about the final result. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6

Ivanchuk chooses the always combative Najdorf Variation, which used to be Kasparov’s preferred weapon against 1.e4. It is curious that in the last game before his retirement from active chess (March 2005), Kasparov facing Topalov didn’t go for his favourite variation, deciding to play 2…Nc6 instead. 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 Nbd7. Earlier this year Topalov himself preferred to prevent the advance of White’s g-pawn: 8…h5 9.Nd5 (9.Qd2 Nbd7 10.a4 Be7 11.Be2 Qc7 12.0-0 0-0 Leko,P (2753)-Topalov,V (2780)/Wijk aan Zee 2008) 9…Bxd5 10.exd5 Nbd7 11.Qd2 g6 12.0-0-0 Nb6 13.Qa5 Bh6 14.Bxh6 Rxh6 15.Kb1 Anand,V (2799)-Topalov,V (2780)/Wijk aan Zee 2008. 9.g4 b5 10.g5 b4 11.Nd5 Nxd5 12.exd5 Bf5 13.Bd3 Bxd3 14.Qxd3 Be7 15.h4 a5. Taking into consideration that White is going to hide his king on the queenside, Black starts active actions there before castling short. But the move has a drawback too: it turns out that White is happy to play on the queenside.

The main continuation is 15…0-0 used among others by Kasparov and Anand. White continues 16.0-0-0 with a sharp game. 16.a3. This somewhat surprising decision is typical for the ex-world champion though: he doesn’t seem to care about finding a secure place for his king in the future. A quick initiative in order to put an immediate and concrete pressure on the opponent is more important for Topalov. The justification of 16.a3 is that White can quickly build pressure after opening the files on the queenside. 16…a4. Considering that White doesn’t have a safe king, Black should rather seek for counterplay by playing at some moment f7-f6. From this point of view preferable looks 16…0-0 17.axb4 axb4 18.Rxa8 Qxa8 after which most likely White must castle as well: 19.0-0 (19.Qb5?! Nc5 points out the weaknesses in white structure: the pawn d5 is hanging.) 19…f6 20.Qf5 Qe8 with a complete mess and chances for both sides. 17.Nd2 Rb8 18.axb4 Rxb4 19.Qa3

White can be happy: the queenside is open and Black must solve concrete problems. 19…Qb8. Ivanchuk protects the rook and attacks pawn b2 at the same time. But as mentioned before, opening the files on the queenside favours White. 19…Qa5 keeps an eye on a much more important pawn d5. A possible follow up is 20.c3 (20.c4? Rxc4 and the knight is pinned) 20…Rb8 21.c4 (after 21.Qxa4 Qxd5 White’s king will soon become more vulnerable than his black colleague) 21…Ra8 (the computer prefers 21…Rb4 but for a human is scary to pin the pieces like that. After 22.Qc3 threatening Nb3 22…Nc5 23.b3 0-0 24.Ke2 followed by Rhb1 White is slightly better) 22.b4 Qc7 23.h5 is again a position where any result is possible. 20.c3! Rxb2 21.Qxa4 Rb7 22.Ke2

Possibly Vassily underestimated White’s possibilities here. Topalov’s play is very simple: the rook from h1 comes to b1, the queen goes to c6 and the knight to c4. Due to White’s pressure and very active queen Black will have to exchange pieces, but the endgame will be difficult anyway. 22…Rc7. In a bad position all moves are bad. 22…0-0 23.Rhb1 Rc8 24.Rxb7 Qxb7 25.Qa7 with a clear advantage in endgame. 23.Rhb1 Qc8

The Ukrainian succeeded avoiding the exchange of rooks. The rook on c7 is very important for defense: it controls the seventh rank and the important c-file. White must find a way to exchange the rook c7. How to do it? Watch the next two elegant moves: 24.Bb6! Rb7. The alternative was to open another file: 24…Rxc3 25.Ne4 Rc4 (or 25…Rc2+ 26.Kd3!+- Rh2 27.Rc1 Qb8 28.Bc7 followed by the winning check on a8.) 26.Rc1! Rxc1 27.Rxc1 Qb8 28.Rc7 and White wins a piece. 25.Ba7

The rook cannot retreat to c7 again due to 26.Rb8. Which means that White achieves his plan. Which means that Black can’t avoid a bad endgame. Which means that is in deep troubles. 25…e4 Having understood the situation, Ivanchuk tries to get at least some squares for his pieces. But… see above the comment after Black’s 22nd move. 25…0-0 26.Rxb7 Qxb7 27.Qc6 Qc8 28.Rb1 followed by Rb7 is also hopeless. 26.fxe4 Rxb1 27.Rxb1 0-0 28.Qc6 Ne5 29.Qxc8 Rxc8 30.Rb8! Rxb8 31.Bxb8. Mission completed. A pawn up, poor king and bishop for Black, plus the fact that the knight e5 can be always challenged by White means that the rest is an easy technical matter for Topalov. 31…Kf8 32.Nf3 Ng6 33.c4 Ke8 34.e5 Kd7 35.Kd3 h6 36.exd6 Bxd6 37.Bxd6 Kxd6 38.gxh6 gxh6 39.Kd4 f6 40.c5+ Kd7 41.Ke4 h5 42.d6 Ke6 43.Nd4+ Kd7 44.Nf5 Ne5 45.Kd5 Nc6 46.Nd4. In the past two years everybody got used to the fact that Topalov starts tournaments badly and finishes them in force. Unfortunately, this highly intriguing, but at the same time risky “strategy” can’t last forever, as the Corus tournament showed recently. It is great to see that in Morelia Topalov found a good form right from the start. After the World Championship in 2005 Topalov never started a tournament so strongly again. However, the temptation to make a parallel with the San Luis tournament will have to wait. In Argentina scoring 2,5 points out of three was just a prelude for the future world champion, who in the next rounds produced four consecutive wins. So let’s wait a little bit to see if in Morelia Topalov will continue in the same impressive fashion. 1-0. [Click to replay]

Carlsen fell a victim of his rather superficial opening preparation. Against the razor-sharp Anti-Moscow Variation he chose a rare line, but soon found himself in troubles with white. 1.d4. A month ago in Wijk aan Zee Carlsen started his game versus Anand with the kings’s pawn. In spite of getting a very promising position, the Norwegian lost that important game. This time he switches to a different opening. 1…d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5

9.Ne5. The main theory starts with 9.Be2 followed by oceans of variations which you don’t want to know. 9…h5. White released pressure on g5, so Black immediately advances the h-pawn. This is known to be the best reaction to 9.Ne5. Did Carlsen really hope that Anand will repeat moves from his rapid game? 9…Bg7 10.h4 Nfd7 11.hxg5 hxg5 12.Rxh8+ Bxh8 13.Qh5 Bxe5 14.Bxe5 Nxe5 15.Qh8+ Kd7 16.Qxe5 Bb7 17.0-0-0 Kc8 18.Qg7 Qe7 19.e5 Nd7 20.Ne4 Kc7 21.Nd6 Rf8 22.Be2 Kasimdzhanov,R (2683)-Anand,V (2792)/Mainz 2007. Black is still under pressure, but Anand managed to survive. White has numerous ways to improve, so expectedly the world champion goes for the strongest 9…h5 istead of 9…Bg7. 10.f3. After 10.h3 Black has a pleasant choice between 10…b4 and then taking pawn e4, or the normal continuation 10…Bb7.; Also 10.h4 g4 11.Be2 might be the best, when 11…Bb7 leads to the main lines, which start usually with the move 9.Be2. Playing main lines was clearly not Carlsen’s intention. 10…h4 11.Bf2 Bb7

12.Be2. A new move. Difficult to say what went wrong in Carlsen’s preparation: the resulting positions are good for Black. 12.Be3 Nfd7 13.Nxd7 Nxd7 14.Qd2 Be7 is known as advantage for Black. 12…Nbd7 13.Nxd7 Nxd7 14.0-0 e5!

Anand feels very well the Anti-Moscow Variation. This opening brought him many important points lately and there are little doubts that he continuously analyzes it. The diagram position certainly offers chances for White as well – in such situations White is usually justified to claim compensation for the pawn – but practical experience and feeling of the position are the decisive factors. Carlsen simply stepped on the opponent’s territory unprepared. 15.a4 a6 16.d5 Rh6 17.dxc6 Bxc6

Black has everything protected and he is a pawn up. Does Black have bad pieces? The king? Well, it is interesting to see how White is going to attack black king. In fact Black has a large advantage already. There are openings when if something goes wrong for White, then he can still hold equality easily (say Queen’s Gambit). But there are openings when if things go wrong, you can go home. Playing the Anti-Moscow with either colour is a risky business. 18.axb5 axb5 19.Rxa8 Qxa8 20.Qc1 Rg6 21.Rd1 Bc5 22.Bxc5 Nxc5 23.Qe3 Nb3 24.Qb6 Nd4

Morelia R1: GM Dorian Rogozenko annotates17.02.2008– The starting round in Morelia provided three decided games out of four. Topalov and Leko won with the white pieces against Aronian and Radjabov respectively, while Anand scored a win with black against Shirov. “Let’s hope that ‘the return of the Sicilian’ will remain the trend of this extremely strong tournament,” says our GM commentator Dorian Rogozenko, in his analysis of round one.

Morelia-Linares 2008

Round one commentary by GM Dorian Rogozenko

The starting round in Morelia provided three decided games out of four. Topalov and Leko won with the white pieces against Aronian and Radjabov respectively, while Anand scored a win with black against Shirov. Carlsen-Ivanchuk was the only draw. Let’s hope that “the return of the Sicilian” will remain the trend of this extremely strong tournament.

Topalov and Aronian met last time in the second round of Wijk aan Zee tournament (January 2008). In that game Topalov achieved advantage with Black, but completely misplayed the position and lost. In the end Aronian shared first place, while Topalov made a minus score, finishing on the 9th place… 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3

This system was prepared by Kasparov and very successfully implemented in his second match versus Karpov (Moscow 1985), which was a surprise at that time, since 4.Nf3 has been considered a harmless move until then. In the past decades the theory of 4.Nf3 developed a lot. Topalov and Aronian have a vaste experience with it with both colours. 4…c5 5.g3: The arising positions are often a sort of mixture between Nimzo, Catalan and English Opening. 5…cxd4 6.Nxd4 Ne4 7.Qd3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 Nc5 9.Qf3 d6 10.Bg2

A solid variation for Black, who has a better pawn structure as the compensation for opponent’s bishop pair. White’s task is to exert pressure on Black’s queenside and on the d-file, trying to open the position. 10…e5. The alternative 10…Nbd7 was met in practice of both Topalov and Aronian. They must have come to the conclusion that White’s chances are preferable after that. 11.Qe3! An important novelty in the well-known position. White’s idea is to retreat the knight to b3 with greater effect. 11.Nb3 Nba6 12.Ba3 Qc7 13.Rd1 Be6 14.Bxc5 Nxc5 15.Nxc5 dxc5 (Better looks 15…Qxc5 16.Qxb7 Rc8 and Black must achieve a draw rather easily) 16.0-0 Rb8 17.Qh5 0-0 18.Bd5 Rfe8 19.Bxe6 Rxe6 20.Rd5 Re7 21.Rfd1 and Aronian squized a full point in Aronian,L (2756)-Nielsen,P (2646)/Turin 2006. 11…0-0. In case of 11…Nba6 Black must reckon first of all with 12.f4; 11…Qc7? 12.Nb5 Qb6 13.Ba3 Nba6 (or 13…0-0 14.Nxd6) 14.Rd1 winning. 12.Nb3 Qc7. Possibly this is already inaccurate. Critical is 12…Nba6 13.Ba3 Qc7. 13.Nxc5 dxc5. The endgame after 13…Qxc5 14.Qxc5 dxc5 15.Be3 is unpleasant for Black. 14.0-0 Nd7

15.f4! The right position for Topalov: White has the initiative and enough resources to exert pressure on opponent. Considering that in opposite to Aronian the Bulgarian must have analyzed the position at home, it becomes clear that Levon’s task was exceptionally difficult. 15…exf4. During the next few moves the position will become from good to almost winning for White, so around here Black should look for improvements. 16.Rxf4 a5. Very creative: the rook will enter the game via a6. Unfortunately for Aronian, this does not solve Black’s problems. 17.Qe7 Qe5 18.Qxe5 Nxe5 19.Be3 Nd7

20.Re4! The rook goes to e7 and it becomes clear that White’s advantage should be decisive. 20…Ra6 21.Rb1 Rg6 22.Re7 b6 23.Bf4

A complete domination of white pieces. On top of all Aronian was already experiencing problems with the time on the clock, so the rest was a technical matter for the ex-World Champion. 23…h5 24.Be4 Re6 25.Rxe6 fxe6 26.Bd6 Rf6 27.Rd1 Kf7 28.Bf4 Kg8 29.Bc7 Rf7 30.Bg6 a4 31.Bxh5 Nf6 32.Bxf7+ Kxf7 33.Bxb6 Ba6 34.Bxc5 e5 35.a3 Bxc4 A very “clean” and important win for Topalov. 1-0. [Click to replay]

Interview with Vishy Anand

Q: On February 14th you begin the defense of your Linares-Morelia title. Who is the favorite for you?

A: There are eight players of the highest level but if I have to pick someone I’d say Levon Aronian, who just won in Wijk aan Zee. I prefer to take it round by round. There’s no dominant player, like when (Garry) Kasparov was around. Now you have to fight tournament by tournament.

Q: But the Elo list marks you as the favorite.

A: When you sit down to play the differences between one player and another don’t appear on the Elo list. Just look at Aronian and Carlsen, who aren’t in the top eight on the rating list but nevertheless just won Wijk aan Zee.

Q: What do you think of the youngster Carlsen? At 17 does he already have the qualities to be world champion?

A: Magnus has developed very quickly. He will be a great champion, without a doubt. He plays with great maturity, not like a lad of 17. He has a huge talent, but I’d still say Aronian is the favorite, although just by a bit.

Q: It seems like Mexico gives you good vibes.

A: Yes indeed. I’ve won all three tournaments I’ve played in this country and I feel very comfortable here. I like everything: the people, the climate, the food, and, above all, the chess fans, who treat me very well.

Q: How do you prepare for tournaments?

A: Along with theoretical study, which I usually do in the afternoons, I spend two hours in the gym in the morning. One day I do resistance exercises and the next day strength exercises. Sometimes I ride a bicycle. As a fan I like soccer – I’m a Real Madrid supporter – car racing, and tennis.

Q: Do you consider yourself a “child” of the historic Fischer-Spassky encounter in Reykjavik in 1972?

A: I was three years old then and I wasn’t precocious enough to follow it, but later, once my mother (Susila Viswanathan) taught me to play when I was six, I studied those games and Fischer the man as well. I consider him a genius who confronted a gigantic country like the Soviet Union on his own.

Q: Do you consider him the greatest ever?

A: He was a genius, and his game, along with having great beauty, was very simple to understand; he did everything easily. He and Kasparov were the greatest in history, but I judge Kasparov as a little ahead. Fischer was a phenomenon from 1970 to 1972 while Kasparov was on top for many years.

Q: You became famous for the speed of your play. Have you lost speed over the years?

A: I’m still winning rapid tournaments and I have better results than Kasparov himself in rapid games. I think I’ve kept my speed. Even when I spend more time thinking I don’t find better moves.

Q: In October you’ll have to defend the world championship crown against Kramnik in Bonn, in twelve games. Kramnik gives the impression that he’s not at his best these days.

A: But in October he’ll be a powerful rival because he’s very strong in matches. He knows how to prepare very well to come up with ideas at home. I’ll also be studying in order to surprise him with a few novelties.

Q: Is it necessary to be a little crazy to become a great chess champion?

A: No. That’s a myth. What happens is that the media focuses a lot on the exceptions, but the great majority of players are normal people.

Q: Fischer, Korchnoi, and others used to always bring up scandals about trifles like the chair, the lights, and the nearness of the audience. Do you have any such manias when you sit down at the board?

A: I don’t think so. If anything, I might use the same pen that I used when I won a great victory, or wear a special shirt that Aruna puts out for me, but I couldn’t care less about the chairs, the table, the board, and the pieces. I have a great ability to concentrate and nothing disturbs me.